Environmental Pollution

When the Well Runs Over.
On June 22, 2021, workers at a natural gas–fired electricity power plant in Kern County, California, discovered a serious operational failure: wastewater injected underground began seeping back up to the surface within mere feet of the injection well, pooling...

For 8 Years, Evonik Held A Clean River Hostage w/ 2 Million Gallons of Oil
It was a quiet August day in 2017 when inspectors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 arrived at Evonik Corporation’s Mapleton, Illinois facility. Tucked within the preliminary pages of the Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) legal...

Some of Marathon’s gas stations had dangerous amounts of emissions for months
Introduction Corporate Intent Exposed The Corporate Playbook / How They Got Away with It Crime Pays / The Corporate Profit Equation System Failure / Why Regulators Did Nothing This Pattern of Predation Is a Feature, Not a Bug The PR Playbook of Damage Control...

The 5-Year Cover-Up That Put Profits Over Illinois’ Kishwaukee River
1. Introduction On a quiet street in Sycamore, Illinois, an industrial facility sits at 356 North Cross Street, largely unnoticed by residents going about their daily lives. This facility, owned and operated by Elgiloy Specialty Metals, produces drawn wire—including...

Arrow Pipeline polluted your air because it would have been inefficient not to.
1. Introduction On June 15, 2023, EPA inspectors observed visible smoke continuously flowing from a flare at one of Arrow Pipeline's compression stations, a direct violation of both Clean Air Act (CAA) regulations on emissions control. Even more alarming, inspectors...

Oxy Vinyls Waited 7+ Hours Before Warning The Public About A Deadly Chemical Leak
1. Introduction At 1:03 a.m. on May 30, 2023, a potent chemical release occurred at the Oxy Vinyls, LP facility in Pedricktown, New Jersey. The substance was vinyl chloride—a known hazardous chemical with well-documented risks to human health and the environment....